Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. was sued by Wayne
Goodrich, who says he was a confidant, sounding board and close
adviser to company co-founder Steve Jobs and was fired for no
legitimate reason despite Jobs’s promise of job security.

Goodrich said he was fired in December for what Apple said
were “business reasons” not connected to his performance,
according to a complaint filed Aug. 17 in California state court
in San Jose.

Goodrich, who worked for Jobs since 1998, was promised by
late chairman of the world’s most valuable company in a one-on-one meeting in May 2005 that he would always have a job at
Apple, according to the complaint. The conversation took place
after Jobs’s return from medical leave to receive treatment for
pancreatic cancer, Goodrich said.

“This express promise by Steve Jobs was consistent with a
practice that Steve Jobs had, acting on behalf of defendant
Apple, of promising job security to certain key employees who
worked directly with him for many years,” Goodrich said in the
complaint.

Goodrich alleged breach of contract and unfair business
practices and seeks damages for lost restricted stock units,
wages, benefits and emotional distress. He’s seeking
compensation for loss of restricted stock that was worth $97.40
a share when awarded in 2008 and about $635 a share as of Aug.
17. Apple discharged him to avoid paying the restricted stock,
Phil Horowitz, Goodrich’s lawyer, wrote in the complaint.

Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based
Apple, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Executive Producer

Goodrich was executive producer of Apple’s public
presentations, including all new product releases, and
participated in the creative process for developing the
presentations and working with Jobs to prepare the events,
according to the complaint.

Goodrich said he played a key role working with Jobs to
coordinate major product events such as the debut of the iPhone
and iPad. The keynote speeches -- and the resulting media
coverage -- have been a critical part of Apple’s strategy for
introducing new devices. Apple sold more than 3 million iPads
after the latest tablet went on sale in March following one
event.

Apple’s style of product releases have been emulated
throughout the technology industry, with executives such as
Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg using similar events to
introduce new features for the world’s largest social network.

Goodrich said one of his major accomplishments at Apple was
to introduce the company to Siri virtual personal assistant
technology. He was the first Apple employee to meet with
managers of the company that developed Siri, which Apple later
acquired, according to the complaint.

Raises, Bonuses

He received raises and bonuses each year, including from
2007 through 2011, according to the complaint. Goodrich was
assured by Jobs in 2010 that he would be given another job at
Apple if anything happened to his position and Jobs wasn’t
around, according to the complaint.

Jobs died in October at age 56 after battling a rare form
of cancer. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, took over
as chief executive officer.